YesterdayPreparing formal and informal science educators to facilitate science learning experiences in any environment.
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TodayPromoting science learning through interactive experiences rooted in the characters, challenges, and opportunities found in new and familiar books.
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TomorrowPartnering with you to keep science learning thriving in and around our communities.
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Early beginningsTeaching science is a balance between managing the chaos and mess of doing science and capturing the aha moments of scientific discovery in meaningful ways. We believe it is in these aha moments that we can catch a glimpse of the Creator through His designs but how do we give glory to God in a traditional classroom?
We live in a world where even the most predictable patterns we observe mysteriously fit in a network of complex systems. Consider the Sun rising in the East and setting in the West everyday. Have you ever noticed that the length of a day is shorter in the winter and longer in the summer? The Sun still rises in the East and sets in the West but our position in the Earth's orbit around the Sun shifts when the Sun rises and when it sets. The predictable pattern of the Sun rising and setting fits within the planetary system of how the Earth moves around the Sun. There are entire fields of scientific investigation that add to our growing library of observed phenomena just like the Earth's orbit around the Sun and its influence on the life-sustaining systems on Earth. Many of our contemporary controversies are rooted not in what can be or has been observed but are rooted in what those observations mean. They are rooted in how we infer what cannot be seen based on how we interpret what we can see. As both a Christian and a science teacher in the public arena, my approach to teaching science was to focus on observing well as well as sharing the naming mechanisms used in science to describe the way we classify objects, organisms, and their properties. In this way, I always tried to make room for God to shape the meaning of the observations among the students I taught. One of the exciting opportunities that Science Between the Pages provided was that we were able to move beyond "making room for God" in traditional science classrooms. Now we can capture and create experiences where we can proclaim His excellencies in homes, online, as well as in parks, churches, and other public spaces. One of the opportunities we feel led to build on was the family reading books together. We already used both fiction and non-fiction books as a launching point for unit studies and one-off activities, the challenge and opportunity was to do it more purposefully. Read alouds become a more consistent part of the science classes we taught at the Community Homeschool Center -- particularly for the pre-K-4th grade classes. Our first opportunity to do something bigger came through a relationship with the Children's Museum of the Brazos Valley. Kenneth had already been meeting with the director of the Children's Museum of the Brazos Valley to talk about ideas and ways that we could support the museum's educational mission. The museum had shifted locations and placed a new priority on literacy. Their storybook decor elements and our science priority lay the ground work for hosting a Science in the Hundred Acre Wood special event at the museum in 2018. We had enjoyed reading the A.A. Milne's classic stories with our children and so we developed interactive demonstrations, make-and-take centers, and activity stations that paired a STEAM concept and a faith lesson with eight different stories from the A.A. Milne library of stories. Since then Science Between the Pages has brought hands-on activities and faith lessons to the After School Kids program through Science of the Sabbath, a look at the scientific benefits and purposes of rest and more recently the 12 Days of Science activitiy kits, pairing STEAM activities with each of the gifts described in the familiar Christmas song. |
Psalm 19:1-6
The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world. God has made a home in the heavens for the sun. It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding. It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race. The sun rises at one end of the heavens and follows its course to the other end. Nothing can hide from its heat. Romans 1:20
For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. |
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Our goal is to establish a family science center with interactive exhibits and programming that allow children and families opportunities to explore and discover real scientific phenomena in a way that glorifies the God of the Bible.
To reach this goal, we have been developing and delivering hands-on science experiences through teaching science classes at the Community Homeschool Center, offering Science on Site events at local parks and businesses, sponsoring science fairs, and hosting science camps during the summer. Our next step is to start designing the interactive exhibits and sharing them with our local community through our latest investment, the Airstream Science project. We had a unique opportunity to purchase a 31' vintage Airstream travel trailer. We will be transforming it from a living space into a learning lab and mobile museum to pilot our exhibits and programming in a flexible way. As we work through the renovations, we are also developing a series family science subscription boxes. Each box will include a fun picture book, an explore guide that walks you through specific opportunities for science investigations and activities as you read through the book together. Any special materials you might need will be included in the box and listed on the explore guide. |
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Nicole never thought she would be a science teacher. She grew up in public school where the extent of her science education was reading a text book and defining and memorizing terms. She never knew there was another way. It wasn't until she noticed her husband scurrying off to work with odd materials like paper clips, string, chocolate (he doesn't eat chocolate), ice, marbles, bouncy balls, paper helicopters, sand and soils sparked her curiosity.
He was teaching fifth grade math and science at a local public school. When she asked him why he needed all those materials, he would tell her that it was for their science class that day. They would make paper helicopters, find the melting point of chocolate, roll marbles, and test bouncy balls. She was instantly enthralled!! She wanted to go to his science class! As new homeschooling parents, Nicole was inspired to offer similar hands-on science experiences to her children. What was an unexpected surprise to Nicole was that other parents wanted that same experience for their children too. This is what led Nicole to start teaching science to elementary-age children at the Community Homeschool Center. 
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Nicole's new science learning and teaching journey started in 2012 and as her oldest daughter grew and they continued to have more children, Nicole offered more and more science classes. One of Nicole's favorite things about teaching at the Community Homeschool Center is the freedom to teach topics that she is interested in and to share her excitement about God and His creation with so many families in the Brazos Valley. This flexibility has given her the freedom to give credit for all these wonders to our magnificent God and Creator.
As Nicole continues to teach, she has been encouraged by finding God's fingerprints in everything that she discovers and her desire to learn more grows. What a testimony! Like many, the science learning experiences that Nicole grew up with were evolution-based void of any mention of a Creator God. It's amazing to see how having a relationship with God through Jesus Christ as her Savior has opened up her eyes to see the wonders of His Creation and drawn her into a deeper relationship with Himself. Praise the Lord! Nicole continues to teach elementary science classes at the Community Homeschool Center and God has faithfully always filled her classes. Her heart's desire is to teach the next generation of scientists to love the Creator and from there know about His Creation. This will heal so many broken pieces in the scientific community today. Please pray with them for God's Kingdom to come to the scientific community. |
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Dr. Kenneth Fleming has been teaching science in the Bryan/College Station community since 2009. His passion for understanding how people learn science inspired him to pursue graduate education at Texas A&M University. His research narrowed to investigating how difference-makers in the informal science education community shape exhibits and experiences that support families learning science together outside the classroom. As an adjunct faculty member at Texas A&M University, he continues to prepare current and future educators to work with young children and to teach science through hands-on activities. After completing his doctoral graduate degree, Kenneth spent four years as a coordinator on a grant-funded research project investigating literacy-infused science teaching and learning across the state of Texas. This post-doctoral work included creating and delivering literacy-infused science professional development, providing in-ear live coaching to science teachers across the state of Texas, developing evidence-based practices for supporting families doing science together, as well as supervising graduate research assistants and undergraduate student workers.
Kenneth supports Science Between the Pages by managing partnerships with local organizations and businesses, developing curricular materials, providing graphic design and illustrations, and contributing to the webpage and other social media platforms. |
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